This is how it went down. I had high expectations for Carnevale, having imagined people in full period costumes with cool masks. Instead I was greeted with what I deem as a Rogers Santa's Parade equivalent. If you live in Vancouver and have frequented this yearly parade, you will know what I mean--in two words: low budget. That is not to say that no effort was put into it or that nobody dressed up, but it didn't hold a candle to Disneyland's daily parades. You need to step up your game, Italy.
My favourite gondola in the parade
The greater success of the day was our discovery of frittelle, today's word of the day. They're the ultimate mini-donuts, Italian-style. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures, mostly because we ate them so quickly. We later spent much of our evening walk looking into pastry shops with the hope for more.
We walked through Venice in search of free food before realizing that it was way back where we had started. Once we found it, I squirmed into the thick of a crowd to get us some beans, mozzarella, and fish cooked with sweet onion (at some point I didn't think I would make it alive).
We would award them with "Best Group Costume"
Unfortunately it was a very cold day with the constant threat of rain. It also didn't help that we had very little free time in Venice--or that some of the girls in our group spent their afternoon in a drunken stupor with a constant grasp of a beer bottle in their hands. Class-ay.
A selection of my favourite pictures:
Tea at Caffè Florian in St. Mark's Square (€9)
Nighttime in Venice
Venice requires at least a full day, ideally in the beginning of summer when it's not too cold or not experiencing springtime floods (they were already preparing wooden "catwalks" when we were there). I'd recommend going on your own vs. joining a tour. We went on a tour for convenience sake but in the end I think we would have enjoyed more time. And a better tour guide. I swear ours was hungover.
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